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Friday, December 23, 2011

7 Quick Takes December 23, 2011

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While things get terribly hectic and life gets increasingly complicated, we must persevere in our quest for that elusive feeling called JOY. I hope that you are experiencing JOY as you prepare your hearts and homes for the coming of the Lord in a few more days!

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We experienced some JOY late Wednesday evening when Ms 19 yo made it home safely and on time for Christmas from a visit to her boyfriend. They live quite a few states apart and she had to fly out there, so we had been praying for quite some time that weather would not delay her coming home. Thankfully, our prayers were answered. Now, however, the kids have begun their prayers in earnest for a white Christmas. They truly believe that nothing is impossible for God, even if the weatherman says it ain't gonna happen.

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The JOYful message above was made with our homemade fudge. We've been preparing treats for the past week for some of our people and this fudge is one of our family's signatures! It is so good you could eat the whole batch...of course you would then feel horrible, but it sure would feel good going down. We've yet to make our toffee and truffles. You can see other items we're including in our goodie buckets here and here.

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Now this story truly brought JOY to my heart. A local couple won 11.2 million dollars in the state lottery last week! I read the whole story and was astounded at the simplicity of their desires: They want to pay their bills off and buy themselves a home in a local community. Then they want to take some fun trips, the first of which will be to Minnesota to see the settings for "Little House on the Prairie". I love these people! Now a skeptical friend of mine chimed in that in due time they will go off the deep end. He might be right, but for now I am celebrating their simplicity!

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We will be JOYfully celebrating Christmas with our immediate families on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We are fortunate to live close to all our relatives, which allows us to see everyone for all of the holidays. We will celebrate with our church family at Midnight Mass where Mr 11 yo will be serving (and he even stays awake up there!) and Ms 15 yo will be singing in the choir. I love Midnight Mass...to me it is the highlight of Christmas.

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While we are always hoping for that JOY in our lives, at this time of the year it is very hard to find for a lot of people. Our prayers go out to all of the people who have lost loved ones and those who are just plain grieving during this Christmas season. May you at least find some peace to help heal your pain.